Fadel Shana

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When Mick Deane was killed in Egypt on Wednesday, he became the 1,000th journalist documented by CPJ as having died in direct relation to his work. The photos above, a sampling of those who have died over the past 21 years, serve as a powerful reminder of the cost of critical, independent journalism.

With a shaky six-month truce coming to an end in late year, Hamas rocket attacks on Israel were met with the largest bombardment of the Gaza Strip since 1967. The headquarters of Hamas-controlled Al-Aqsa TV was destroyed and at least two journalists were injured amid massive airstrikes by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). As 2008 gave way to a new year, hundreds had been killed and Israel had undertaken a ground offensive into Gaza.

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CPJ’s Joel Simon, Robert Mahoney, and Nina Ognianova pay tribute to journalists who died in 2008. The toll was highest in Iraq, but conflicts in South Asia and the Caucasus were deadly as well. Impunity in journalist murders in Russia, Philippines, and Mexico were top issues.

New
York, December
18, 2008—For the sixth
consecutive year, Iraq was the deadliest country in the world for the press, the Committee to
Protect Journalists found in its end-of-year analysis. The 11 deaths recorded in
Iraq in 2008, while a sharp drop from prior years,
remained among the highest annual tolls in CPJ history.

Editor’s note: The original text of this alert has been altered to correct the number of journalists killed in the West Bank and Gaza since 2001, and the number killed by Israeli Defense Forces.

Washington, June 11, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Israeli authorities today to release the findings of an army investigation into the killing of a Reuters cameraman by an Israeli tank shell in the Gaza Strip two months ago. In a meeting with Israel’s ambassador to the United States, the CPJ delegation also urged the government to commit to a thorough, impartial, and credible inquiry into the killing—the seventh journalist death at the hands of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in seven years.

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In the Gaza Strip, anyone with a camera is fair game. That's
the inescapable conclusion from the Israeli army's investigation into why one of
its tank crews fired at least two shells at a Reuters television journalist
openly filming them from a mile away.

The cameraman, Fadel Shana, 24, filmed the muzzle flash of
the Merkava-4 tank that sent a dart-scattering shell above his head. The screen
goes black as Shana falls dead in an open patch of sandy ground near the
Israel-Gaza border, southwest of GazaCity on April 16. His
soundman, Wafa Abu Mizyed, is wounded.Eight other civilians, aged between 12 and 20, were
killed; six of them were under 16. At least seven other bystanders aged from 10
to 18 were also hit. None was armed or was a militant.

In a six-page letter to Thomson Reuters dated August 12, the
Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) military advocate general, Brig.-Gen. Avihai
Mandelblit, absolves
the tank crew and their superiors of any responsibility or criminal
wrongdoing. The letter outlines some of the findings of a confidential inquiry
into the killing. It skates over testimony from witnesses quoted by Reuters and
other media and human rights groups, and concludes that the decision to fire a
shell designed to kill concentrations of battlefield infantry at a two-man TV crew
was "reasonable" and "sound."

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BBC
News has coverage this morning about the media's reaction to Israel's
decision to clear the soldiers involved in the death of Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana.
The "Editors' Blog" on British site Journalism talks about Reuters' "dissatisfaction" at the verdict and the Middle East Online Web site has a report that cites our
alert on the ruling, and quotes the concerns ofCPJ's Middle East Senior Program Coordinator Joel Campagna: "These findings mean that
a journalist with a camera is at risk of coming under fire and there's not that
much that can be done. That's unacceptable."

Australia's
Sydney Morning Herald also covers
the IDF's ruling and quotes our statistic of eight journalist deaths in the West
Bank and Gaza since 1992. The Lebanese Web site Menassat has republished
our alert from yesterday as well.

The arrest of ITN
reporter John Ray yesterday in Beijing has
stirred up fresh concerns about press freedom during the Games and China's
overall human rights record. From England, both The
Telegraph and The
Guardian have stories today about the IOC's unwillingness to admit
China's failures,
particularly in regard to freedom of the press. The International Herald Tribune is also covering
the story, as is the Web site Monsters
and Critics.

August 14, 2008 11:07 AM ET

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The Russian-Georgian conflict continues to be the focus of
many news outlets this morning. The Associated Press outlines vital statistics from the conflict, which includes our reporting
on journalist casualties. McClatchy News Service also cites CPJ in its reporting on the
situation. The International News Safety Institute, meanwhile, has an important posting that explains the continued danger for the news media in the region.

At the Olympics censorship concerns in China are again
the topic of discussion in various news reports today. The Associated Press quotes CPJ's Bob Dietz in an article
about China's
restrictive approach toward journalists who attempt to cover stories that are not
sports-related. Also, MediaChannel has
reprinted
our alert from yesterday about the Chinese blocking our Web site.

This morning, Reuters is covering news that the Israeli military has cleared soldiers involved in the
death of Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana,
who was killed by tank
fire four months ago. The piece quotes CPJ's Joel Campagna as saying that the "findings mean that a journalist with a camera is at risk of coming under fire and there's not that much that can be done. That's unacceptable." Campagna had led CPJ deleation that met previously with Israeli Ambassador Sallai Meridor
to call for
a full investigation into Shana's death.

August 13, 2008 12:30 PM ET

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New York, August 13, 2008--The Israeli government should carry out an independent investigation into the killing of Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ also called on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to work with journalists and media groups to ensure that journalists operating in the Gaza Strip are able to do their jobs safely.